HuffPost/RGJ panel on women in politics: 'Women will come out to vote' this November

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged that Republicans have a longstanding gender gap when it comes to women voters, but he told the AP “nobody’s going to beat” Sen. Lisa Murkowski despite her opposition to Brett Kavanaugh. (Oct. 10)
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A group of panelists talk about women in politics in Nevada at an event on Oct. 10, 2018 at the University of Nevada, Reno. The event was part of HuffPost's 'Listen to America' RV tour. The event was co-hosted by the Reno Gazette Journal and HuffPost.(Photo11: Marcella Corona/RGJ)Buy Photo

That was the message behind a bi-partisan panel discussion about women in politics, which was held Wednesday night at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Four panelists delivered a message of empowerment to all women and encouraged them to get involved, especially at a time when Nevada could become the first state with a female majority in its legislature.

“Women will come out to vote, they will,” said Washoe County Commissioner Marsha Berkbigler, one of four women to speak on the panel Wednesday . “Women will come out to vote because it’s so close to the election. I feel like you’ll see women out voting because they feel congress is perhaps not listening to their concerns.”

The event was part of HuffPost's "Listen to America" RV tour — a two-week journey through five Western states to talk about issues affecting communities in California, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Colorado.

It was organized by both the Reno Gazette Journal and the HuffPost and was moderated by HuffPost Washington bureau chief Amanda Terkel. The panel featured three other speakers, including: Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Majority Floor Leader of the Nevada State Assembly; Sue Wagner, former lieutenant governor of Nevada; and Anjeanette Damon, government watchdog reporter for the RGJ.

Nevada’s congressional delegation is 50 percent female and women make up majorities on the Washoe County Commission and Reno City Council. It explains why national media have recently descended on the Silver State to proclaim it the nation’s best chance to close the state legislative gender gap.

Groups that helped recruit and train female candidates credit the #MeToo movement — a social media-driven wave of support for victims who came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men — for helping to spark a political interest among women.

Watch the full panel discussion here:

Struggle for power

The perception of women has changed over the past several decades. Berkbigler said women are capable — a realization that did not exist when she first began lobbying in the state of Nevada in the early 80s.

She said many people previously questioned why some women became involved in politics.

“There was this perception of, ‘What are you doing here?’” Berkbigler said. “‘You’re a woman, you’re not supposed to be here.’”

Berkbigler said women are also advancing outside politics and in fields such as engineering and medicine, she said.

For Wagner, the struggle was even more apparent when she began campaigning for the Nevada Legislature in 1974. She was 34 years old.

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A group of panelists talk about women in politics in Nevada at an event on Oct. 10, 2018 at the University of Nevada, Reno. The event was part of HuffPost's 'Listen to America' RV tour. The event was co-hosted by the Reno Gazette Journal and HuffPost.(Photo11: Marcella Corona/RGJ)

She said no one asked her about her thoughts on some of the issues within her district at that time.

“They wanted to know about how I could possibly leave as a mother and go off and leave my children behind to be raised by a father, who was often gone on experiments for DRI (Desert Research Institute),” Wagner said.

Benitez-Thompson said the culture at the Nevada Legislature has since changed. She said many assemblymen bring their children to the legislative sessions.

“I think we’re more sensitive to people’s hours and sensitive to family life and family demands,” Benitez-Thompson said. “We still get work done despite that.

“And it’s not just the women that are there,” she said. “A lot of men are equal parents now-a-days, and they’re the ones demanding to get to a soccer game at least once during a session, as much as the moms are.

“It’s a change in times coming into the Legislature.”

Getting over the hurdle

The Nevada Legislature is made up of 63 members — 38 are men and 25 are women. Women are favored to control 27 seats heading into the 2019 Nevada Legislature with 19 in the Assembly and eight in the Senate.

Still, they have to add at least five seats—including four in highly competitive Assembly districts—to secure a 32-seat majority.

The first big hurdle is getting women to make up 50 percent of the Legislature, Benitez-Thompson said, adding she believes it’s something that needs to happen.

“The next big step is making sure we are present in every conversation that happens that’s related to decision-making, and that it’s not just about electing women for women’s sake. It’s about changing the process," she said.

Berkbigler said women need to realize they can make a difference as leaders because they have an interest in issues that aren’t talked about at the Legislature.

“My history at the Legislature, when I first started there, most of the deals on the budgets and most of the deals on the big bills that came around were cut in the men’s room,” she said. “I’m serious.”

Because women make up about 50 percent country’s population, “we should have 50 percent of the invested interest” she said.

“Things are different today because women really get involved,” Berkbigler said.

The Kavanaugh hearings

The recent Senate hearings on the sexual assault allegations raised against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh took up a large chunk of the discussion on Wednesday.

The Senate’s handling of those allegations and Kavanaugh’s confirmation as a justice has led many women nationwide to question whether their concerns are being heard, despite the #MeToo movement.

Both Wagner and Berkbigler echoed that nationwide sentiment. Benitez-Thompson described the hearings as a “victim’s worst nightmare.”

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Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Majority Floor Leader of the Nevada State Assembly, speaks on at a panel discussion about women in politics on Oct. 10, 2018 at the University of Nevada, Reno. The event was co-hosted by the Reno Gazette Journal and HuffPost as part of the HuffPost's "Listen to America" RV tour.(Photo11: Marcella Corona/RGJ)

“And it’s every accused’s worst nightmare that the whole world will point at you and never believe you,” Benitez-Thompson said. “The process was just ghastly. The process was horrible.

“It was so uncomfortable watching it,” she said. “I had to get up and walk away a number of times because this was humanity at its worst.”

Berkbigler said she believes the Kavanaugh hearings will motivate women to vote. She questioned whether lawmakers, mostly men, are listening to the “America of today.”

“Or are they listening to the America of when they first got elected 10 years ago or 20 years ago?” Berkbigler said. “The America of today is vastly different from when they got elected.”

All of the panelists also ­­agreed Republicans need to work harder at mentoring women and encouraging them to take up political positions.

“Vote, vote, vote,” Wagner said. “That’s the only way you can change government in this country in a reasonable, non-revolutionary way.”